Irish Chaplaincy blog: Keeping connected across the Irish Sea

Mamie's sister

One of the most uplifting images I've seen recently was of a 100-year-old religious sister in Dublin looking at and listening to, via a screen, her 90-year-old sister in London.

Mamie, who lives in Archway in North London and who has been supported by the Irish Chaplaincy Seniors' Project for many years, was one of the first recipients of a pre-programmed tablet as part of our 'Keeping Connected' campaign. Back at the start of the pandemic I'd had a conversation with Paul, the Seniors manager, about how we might be able to use technology to help people who were going to become even more isolated in lockdown.

We were both a bit dubious about it initially but it became clear that there was a need for something, with people telling us they would find it a comfort to attend Mass or to listen to their favourite Irish radio station.

Along came Joe who had being involved in a project in his native USA whereby senior banking executives who were not very computer literate were enabled to use devices like tablets. Declan was also instrumental in the project by, amongst many other things, helping us to get around the issue of no wifi issue facing most of those we were supporting by means of dongles and Giffgaff-activated SIMS!

The key, as with so much of life, is to keep it simple! And that's precisely what 'Keeping Connected' has done. All that's needed is a swipe or a touch of the screen and somebody can be watching Mass from anywhere in the world, or tuning into the radio, or speaking to a familiar face. Anne told us how she loved listening to her favourite (Drogheda-based) LMFM; and John from Galway told me every week when I called how he loved hearing Galway Bay FM in the evening and how the Tablet had changed his life!

Mamie was equally delighted with her tablet and was far quicker than me to see the possibilities it offered. She declared that she was going to attend Mass at St Gabriel's in Archway, as well as in Ireland, and she was going to speak via Google Duo to Fr Ugo, her parish priest. She also, in the event, joined Facebook on her own initiative. And she, a then 89-year-old woman who had never previously used a computer.

Mamie had said as well at the outset: "I'll be able to speak to my sister in Dublin next September when it's her 100th birthday." She was true to her word. Joe was with Mamie in her flat on the big day, and a carer in the home where Sr. Joseph lives was on hand at the other end. I listened to a recording of the call, in which Mamie says to her sister, "I wish I could hold your hand. I love you; I always have, and I always will."

Sr Noreen in Dublin wrote: "Sr Joseph's niece and the four Good Shepherd Sisters who celebrated her 100th birthday with her yesterday all agreed that the highlight for Sr Joseph was the video call which you facilitated with her only living sibling Mamie Williamson. Sr Joseph (Rita to her family) became more animated when she saw Mamie and though she did not speak it was evident that she was touched."

Whether it's supplying phone credit and writing materials to prisoners so they can keep in touch with family in Ireland or by providing seniors with easy-to-use technology like Tablets, I'm so proud of how the Irish Chaplaincy team has, in spite of a pandemic, helped people to keep connected across the Irish Sea.

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